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Where Peace Comes From

I don’t know about you but when I have a little extra money in the bank I experience a certain kind of feeling that is quite unique.  I feel a little lighter, a little bit freer, happier, more generous, safer, stronger, more at peace and more confident.

I was thinking about this recently because I had just deposited a large customer check into my bank account.   My feelings were almost euphoric.

Maybe this euphoria or rush is part of a natural sense of accomplishment and the feeling of joy when you achieve a goal.  Maybe that’s ok…..I know these feelings seem to come naturally.
But in that moment after the bank deposit…in my heart, I sensed something not quite right with these emotions I was having.
  • Why was I feeling suddenly better, more joyful and more peaceful after the deposit?
  • What does this feeling say about my relationship to God or my relationship to money?
  • Do I believe that “all’s right with the world‘ because I have a little extra money in the bank?
  • Can I have these deep feelings of satisfaction, contentment, peace, joy and generosity when I have $32 in the bank?
Sadly, I suspect that my heart is still sometimes connected to the world’s sources of joy,  safety, protection, contentment, and generosity.
I’m sure most of us know intellectually that our sense of value, peace, happiness and gratitude should not be connected to or limited by our monetary situation…or really any other situation.  But what our hearts want to know is that our personal joy and peace, generosity, gratitude, our lightness, our effervescence should exude based on who we are and whose we are – not in relation to worldly conditions or measures.
Our purest life is His life exuding through and in our life….may we never forget that.
Prayer
Lord help me and my friends to anchor our identity, our sense of value and our sense of peace and joy only in You and not in the fleeting things of this world.
  • Lord help me to know Your safety when I feel the world’s “unsafety” of little monetary value.
  • Lord let me know Your generous heart even when I don’t feel empty.
  • Lord help me rest in Your safety and refuge even when things are uncertain.
  • Lord help me know Your freedom even when I sense the world boxing me into a corner.
  • Lord help me sense Your joy even when I’m in the midst of pain.
  • Lord help me know Your peace when things around me are chaotic and unsettled.
  • Lord help me to find my sense of worth in You alone even though the world is telling me I’m less than I truly am.

God’s Truth

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. – Psalm 28:7 

Seek the LORD and his strength;  seek his presence continually! – 1 Chronicles 16:11  

The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. – Exodus 15:2 

Song of Praise

If you’re in the mood for hearing an old gospel classic check out the YouTube video of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” by the Gaithers.   The lyrics of reflect the promise and strength of the Lord, not a reliance on the world’s values.

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

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